Take a photo of a barcode or cover
chandraisenberg 's review for:
The Reader
by Bernhard Schlink
I tend to frown upon those who watch movies based on books and never read the books. I'm very anal and typically read the book before I watch the movie. Otherwise, I feel as though I'm not allowing the text and its message to affect me, move me, teach me as it should. For whatever reason, I put The Reader on my netflix list and, although I fully intended to push it back in my queue until I read the book, forgot and once I received it in the mail, felt compelled to just watch it. In short, shame on me. But I must say that while I won't make a habit of this, I still thoroughly enjoyed the book and, as per usual, found it to be more enjoyable than the film. However, don't misunderstand me, the movie was excellent.
In my opinion, this book raised a lot more questions than it answered. It would lend itself to a book discussion beautifully. Before I list my questions, I felt the novel addressed a lot of very interesting issues....such as: accepting, understanding, coexisting with the WWII generation of Germans (either those directly involved in the war effort, silent bystanders, or those who easily accepted those involved afterward); dealing with one's German identity as part of a post-war generation; coping with feelings of guilt due to relationships with the WWII generation; what is law? what societies record in written word as law, what societies actually practice as law, or what simply is to be done, a set of moral code perhaps disregarded or overlooked by the human race altogether?; and finally, why some so easily participated in mass genocide. Schlink proposes the theory that, for some, death is merely part of routine and everyday life. While those committing murder are cognizant of their actions, they are seemingly desensitized and unaffected by taking life. The author compares the actions and thought processes of concentration camp officials to those of executioners. I'm not widely read when it comes to the Holocaust or WWII, but have read a few and these topics seem to rarely be addressed in other books I've read. I liked the fact that Schlink prompted the reader to reflect on these topics.
On to my questions... I loved the characters in this book and tried desperately to digest what Schlink cooked up on the pages, in hopes of understanding the motives behind their actions, but often failed. What did Michael really mean to Hanna? What did Hanna really mean to Michael? Obviously, he cared very deeply for her. None of his later relationships compared to what he believed he had with Hanna. He never stopped fantasizing about her. He never missed even an hour of her trial, sent her the cassettes for 10 years of her imprisonment, and was committed to getting her back on her feet after her release. WHY DIDN'T HE TELL THE JUDGE THAT SHE WAS ILLITERATE?! At first I assumed it was a puerile and vindictive decision in response to the way Hanna picked up and left him without any answers, but then it seemed as though it was something much more complex. Was Michael struggling with the fact that he would be rectifying something she allowed to go so horribly wrong? Did the information about the other imprisoned "readers" cheapen the time he spent with Hanna or make him feel as if he was being used? Was he embarrassed to associate himself with someone deeply involved in the war effort? I'm sad to say that it remains a mystery to me! Also, I would've liked to have known more about how Hanna dealt with her personal demons. As the warden described, she did in fact deal with them while imprisoned.
I liked that Schlink described the typical behavior of an illiterate. I knew little about it and found it to be very enlightening and helpful in understanding Hanna's character.
Overall, excellent book. Highly recommend this one!
In my opinion, this book raised a lot more questions than it answered. It would lend itself to a book discussion beautifully. Before I list my questions, I felt the novel addressed a lot of very interesting issues....such as: accepting, understanding, coexisting with the WWII generation of Germans (either those directly involved in the war effort, silent bystanders, or those who easily accepted those involved afterward); dealing with one's German identity as part of a post-war generation; coping with feelings of guilt due to relationships with the WWII generation; what is law? what societies record in written word as law, what societies actually practice as law, or what simply is to be done, a set of moral code perhaps disregarded or overlooked by the human race altogether?; and finally, why some so easily participated in mass genocide. Schlink proposes the theory that, for some, death is merely part of routine and everyday life. While those committing murder are cognizant of their actions, they are seemingly desensitized and unaffected by taking life. The author compares the actions and thought processes of concentration camp officials to those of executioners. I'm not widely read when it comes to the Holocaust or WWII, but have read a few and these topics seem to rarely be addressed in other books I've read. I liked the fact that Schlink prompted the reader to reflect on these topics.
On to my questions... I loved the characters in this book and tried desperately to digest what Schlink cooked up on the pages, in hopes of understanding the motives behind their actions, but often failed. What did Michael really mean to Hanna? What did Hanna really mean to Michael? Obviously, he cared very deeply for her. None of his later relationships compared to what he believed he had with Hanna. He never stopped fantasizing about her. He never missed even an hour of her trial, sent her the cassettes for 10 years of her imprisonment, and was committed to getting her back on her feet after her release. WHY DIDN'T HE TELL THE JUDGE THAT SHE WAS ILLITERATE?! At first I assumed it was a puerile and vindictive decision in response to the way Hanna picked up and left him without any answers, but then it seemed as though it was something much more complex. Was Michael struggling with the fact that he would be rectifying something she allowed to go so horribly wrong? Did the information about the other imprisoned "readers" cheapen the time he spent with Hanna or make him feel as if he was being used? Was he embarrassed to associate himself with someone deeply involved in the war effort? I'm sad to say that it remains a mystery to me! Also, I would've liked to have known more about how Hanna dealt with her personal demons. As the warden described, she did in fact deal with them while imprisoned.
I liked that Schlink described the typical behavior of an illiterate. I knew little about it and found it to be very enlightening and helpful in understanding Hanna's character.
Overall, excellent book. Highly recommend this one!